Organised by Calidris, with Lee Collins flying in from the UK and Machiel Valkenburg flying in from Kazakhstan (where he is CEO of Rubythroat Birding Tours), ten of us visited a range of top birding sites around the country, including Yeoncheon and Cheorwon on 4th and 5th; the (rather degraded) National Arboretum and the Han River in Paldang (on 6th); Odae San and the coast near Ayajin (on 7th); the Goseong coast, (on 8th and 9th, with a boat trip out from Daejin Harbour on 9th) down south to the visually striking entrance to Seorak San National Park, with its giant Buddha and craggy skyline; Junam Reservoir in the afternoon of the 10th; sites in Busan around the Nakdong Estuary (on 11th); Sacheon and the Geum River (on 12th); the Geum Estuary and parts of the Saemangeum reclamation area (on 13th) and on the 14th, forest in southwest Seoul, finishing in parkland near to the airport.
The weather was pretty well dry throughout, with remarkably little snow in the mountains, and rather windier than usual. The only proper snowfall was 2-5cm on 10th (the day that we had planned to drive up into the mountains to look for Asian Rosyfinches). This lack of snow cover likely contributed to the rather lower-than-expected number of some typical winter landbirds.
We did find, however, almost all of the expected mid-winter highlights (e.g., Swan Goose; Scaly-sided Merganser at two sites; White-naped, Red-crowned and Hooded Cranes; Solitary Snipe; Long-billed Murrelet; Oriental Stork; and Steller’s Sea Eagle, with 6 seen in total etc.), but in spite of much effort, failed to find any Relict Gull.
Based on their status in Korea, species or concentrations of particular note included:
Lesser White-fronted Geese Anser erythropus 흰이마기러기. Globally Vulnerable. A flock of eight were at Junam Reservoir.
Baer’s Pochard Aythya baeri 붉은가슴흰죽지. Globally Critically Endangered. Last winter’s male was back in Busan. Although this bird shows an unwelcome patch of warm brown feathering on the crown, there seem to be no additional obvious indications of a hybrid origin. Moreover, last winter at the very same location what must have been the same individual also initially had a warm brown patch on the crown, which appeared to be rather less evident by January 21st (when I saw the bird), presumably because of wear of eclipse plumage into breeding plumage. For an image of a male Baer’s in Japan in December showing extensive brown on the head, see here.
Aythya hybrids. Another stunning presumed Common Pochard x Ferruginous Duck was seen in Seocheon.
Baikal Teal Sibirionetta formosa 가창오리. An estimated 300,000 were at the Geum River. Although in some ways expected here, this flock only arrived back at this site a few days before our visit and apparently was gone from there by the end of the month.
American Wigeon Mareca americana 아메리카홍머리오리. A long-staying adult male was on the sea near to Ayajin.
Red-necked Grebe Podiceps grisegena 큰논병아리. Very large numbers were on the sea off the Geojin coast, with a conservative 1,500 seen on 9th (including one extended raft of 950!). This is by far the highest number I have seen of this species in the ROK.
Demoiselle Crane Grus virgo 쇠재두루미. The long-staying young bird (our sixth crane species of the week) was still present, in with a flock of White-naped Cranes. Although increasingly recorded, there are still only about ten or so national records – with this only the second in mid-winter.
Far Eastern Oystercatcher Haematopus (ostralegus) osculans 검은머리물떼새. A total of 6,100 were counted in 100s along the mainland coast of the Geum Estuary, with several small groups also seen at long range on Yubu Island. This is my highest ever count in Korea.
Siberian Sand Plover Anarhynchus mongolus 몽골왕눈물떼새. Globally Endangered. Rare in winter in Korea, Three were on the tidal flat in the oter Geum Estuary (Seocheon County)
(Thayer’s) Iceland Gull Larus glaucoides thayeri 작은흰갈매기. The fairly long-staying adult was still on a favoured rock on the Gangwon coast.
Yellow-billed Loon Gavia adamsii 흰부리아비. Although not seen by everyone in the group, two were seen from the boat on the 9th.
Little Heron Butorides atricapilla 검은댕기해오라기. Fairly common in summer, there are very few mainland winter records of this recently renamed species. One in the Nakdong Estuary still.
“Northern” Scops Owl Otus semitorques 큰소쩍새. Thanks to Professor Kim Young-Gul, we were able to see this local star shuffle and shimmy into view for a few minutes before, shuffling back into the depths of the tree cavity.
Siberian Rubythroat Calliope calliope 진홍가슴. Although a common migrant, and an extremely local breeding species, there are likely to be fewer than five mid-winter records nationally. One was heard in Maekdo Ecopark, Busan, by several of the group (perhaps at the invitation of the ever-smiling Machiel Valkenburg!)
